Editor note: Marvin is a self-proclaimed old school bimmer. To him, the BMW e46 330i means everything. Let’s take a look at how the MaXpeedingRods coilovers are installed on his car.
My name is Marvin I’m 33 and I’m a car photographer based in Greater Manchester. I love cars and working on cars and I have always done so for all my cars. There is nothing like building the products on cars, it really makes it personal.
Currently, I have a BMW e46 330i and an Audi A3 8p Tdi. My 330i means everything to me, it’s one of my dream cars. I wanted one since they were released back in the early 2000s. And coming from Africa as a 12-year-old boy at the time had no idea how would end up owning one.
I was looking for coilovers for my car and I’ve had MaXpeedingRods coilovers before on my previous car. I loved them. They gave me no issues, so it made sense to get the fully adjustable set for the 330i for better handling and driving and restoring and maintaining the best example of my car with the intention of attending shows.
I would like to share briefly the installation process of coilover on my car:
The front coilovers install
- Jack up the car safely on stands.
- Remove the wheels Disconnect drop link at the strut Remove 3 top mount bolts.
- Remove 18mm at the bottom of the strut, check brake hose, and brake sensor is detached from the strut.
- Pull out the whole strut assembly.
- Install is reverse of removal make sure to torque everything to spec.
The rear coilovers install
- With the car on jack stands and wheels off Remove the 18mm bolt holding the rear shock.
- Then remove 2 bolts on top of the rear shock. To access these open boots and remove the carpet.
- Remove rear spring.
- Install is reverse of removal, torque everything down to spec.
- Repeat process for the opposite side.
I haven’t made any changes to the coilovers they fit perfectly. The only change was made to the rear shocks. The rear shocks that came with the coilovers were too short and caused knocking when driving. But MaXpeedingRods replaced these with longer shocks and the problem was solved.
I learned that rear shocks need to be slightly longer for the coilovers to work on the e46 saloon. This is because before fitting mine I researched the internet and I could see most people were struggling with the length of the rear shocks. How easy it was to install the front coilovers so straight forward and again the price of this coilover is amazing.
And they work great, handling has improved. Less body roll around the corners and the car feels planted and predictable on the road. I achieved what I want via the Coilover and had so much fun. I couldn’t be any happier. I love MaXpeedingRods and would test more products.
